Entertainment Law Update Episode 160 – August/September 2023
While there was much talk of broadcast deregulation at the FCC in 2025, the two big deregulatory changes of the past year were actually delivered by federal appeals courts. ...more
Pillsbury’s communications lawyers have published the FCC Enforcement Monitor monthly since 1999 to inform our clients of notable FCC enforcement actions against FCC license holders and others. This month’s issue includes: ...more
January 1 - Audio Description Requirements Extend to Nielsen Designated Market Areas 111 to 120—Commercial television stations affiliated with one of the top four broadcast networks and assigned to Tyler-Longview (Lufkin &...more
As described in more detail below, by January 10, 2026, all radio and television broadcast stations, both commercial and noncommercial, must prepare a list of important issues facing their communities of license and the...more
The Federal Communications Commission’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB) has issued a Public Notice alerting broadcasters of a recent string of cybersecurity intrusions against radio broadcasters that...more
Pillsbury’s communications lawyers have published the FCC Enforcement Monitor monthly since 1999 to inform our clients of notable FCC enforcement actions against FCC license holders and others....more
Radio and television station employment units (SEUs) located in Alabama, Georgia, Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont with five...more
On September 30, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) voted 3-0 to approve a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), starting the next phase of the FCC’s 2022 Quadrennial Review to examine whether certain...more
A national wireless provider entered into a Consent Decree with the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau for marketing a smartphone in the United States prior to receiving equipment authorization for it from the Commission. The phone...more
As described in more detail below, by October 10, 2025, all radio and television broadcast stations, both commercial and noncommercial, must prepare a list of important issues facing their communities of license and the...more
House of Representatives Rule X requires each authorizing committee to submit a plan by March 1 after the start of a new Congress outlining the committee’s oversight objectives for the two-year congressional period. Among the...more
October 1 is the deadline for broadcast stations licensed to communities in Alaska, American Samoa, Florida, Guam, Hawaii, Iowa, the Mariana Islands, Missouri, Oregon, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Washington to place...more
On September 9, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a draft Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (draft NPRM) that, if adopted at the September 2025 Open Commission Meeting, would commence the next phase of the...more
The FCC released its annual Report and Order announcing the regulatory fees due for the 2025 fiscal year. Fees must be paid by 11:59 pm Eastern time on September 25. The FCC's CORES payment module is accepting fee payments...more
Radio and television station employment units (SEUs) located in Florida, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Iowa, Missouri, Alaska, Guam, Hawaii, Oregon, America Samoa, and Washington with five or more full-time employees must...more
Pillsbury’s communications lawyers have published the FCC Enforcement Monitor monthly since 1999 to inform our clients of notable FCC enforcement actions against FCC license holders and others. ...more
District court dismisses SoundExchange’s suit against Sirius XM Radio seeking $150 million in alleged unpaid royalties, finding that “licensing and enforcement of rights” under Section 114 of Copyright Act is not synonymous...more
On August 7, 2025, a federal district court dismissed the complaint in a lawsuit brought by SoundExchange, Inc., an independent nonprofit representing owners of copyrighted sound recordings that sought underpaid royalties...more
Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed SoundExchange's $150 million lawsuit against SiriusXM, finding that the performance rights organization lacks legal...more
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) has announced that the EAS Test Reporting System (ETRS) is now open for Emergency Alert System (EAS) Participants to file Form One. Under the FCC’s rules, EAS...more
Radio and television station employment units (SEUs) located in North Carolina, South Carolina, Illinois, Wisconsin, and California with five or more full-time employees must prepare by Friday, August 1, 2025, an annual EEO...more
Georgia state court grants summary judgment dismissing defamation claim targeting ChatGPT output accusing radio host of embezzlement, in light of disclaimers notifying users that ChatGPT sometimes generates inaccurate...more